


A Matter of Faith

by CharlyLee



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Everyone loves Kiyoko, Fluff, Gen, Helpless without Yachi, Pre-Canon, Someone please save Daichi, Suga is a gremlin, Tanaka and Nishinoya are really testing it, The old Karasuno poster, implied daisuga
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-06
Updated: 2020-03-06
Packaged: 2021-02-27 21:48:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,901
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22992721
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CharlyLee/pseuds/CharlyLee
Summary: The Volleyball Club is facing difficult times and really needs new members - Fortunately:Kiyoko has a plan,Tanaka and Nishinoya are faithful,Daichi exists,Suga has his fun,Asahi is not concerned for once,and Ennoshita, Kinoshita and Narita are roasting marshmallows in the fire.Or: "The story of Sawamura Daichi's personal demise"
Relationships: Sawamura Daichi/Sugawara Koushi
Comments: 4
Kudos: 19





	A Matter of Faith

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so I decided to write this One-Shot since I needed a good prompt and a friend and me, rewatched parts of Haikyuu, then proceeded to share memes and we remembered a certain gem.
> 
> The story of how Karasuno got their old poster. (They are blessed to have Yachi now)

*******

_‘We need to advertise the Club!’_

It had all begun so innocently, so pure, so delicately.

Daichi has to take a deep, _deep_ inhale. 

_‘You have managed worse!’_ he reminds himself. _‘You have conquered apathy, you have endured so many humiliating comments and disregards, you are a survivor!’_

But this - this may be his downfall yet.

By his side, he can feel Suga radiate amusement, Tanaka having an intense internal conflict, Kinoshita looking distressed, Narita breaking a nervous sweat and Ennoshita trying his best to keep up the serious facade.

And Daichi knows, he knows he will have to be the one who has to take the fall - well, in a sense he already has, but still - because none of the others will be able to tell her.

Shit, _he_ can’t _either,_ he just can’t!

“So, what do you think?” Kiyoko asks, shily lifting her poster design for the club a little higher, as if a closer look was what they needed and not the whole thing to be burned!

The first sound he emits is a hoarse croak, his throat refusing to articulate words.

 _“Stunning,”_ he eventually manages, tears stinging in his eyes. It’s not even a lie, he _is_ pretty stunned! 

_RIP dignity_ \- it was nice while it lasted.

Because damn him, he is a gentleman and he will not tell Kiyoko Shimizu, the girl who was so kind to become their manager, who is giving her best every day, who is dedicated to their club, who is beautiful, who is smart, who is… _just Shimizu_ , that she may be the most horrific artist ever to walk this earth.

_‘We need to advertise the Club!’_

Well, this was certainly an eye-catcher. And an _eye-killer._ But firstly a catcher!

Someone puts a hand on his biceps and leans past him, to get a detailed look of Daichi’s personal demise.

“I like your jawline in this one - _so lifelike,”_ Suga hums, oh so innocently, gives him a bright smile and gleefully pushes past him. “Come on Shimizu, I will help you make some copies!” he claps his hands. “The first years are going to _love_ this!”

 _‘It’s going to burn out their eyeballs, the second they look at it,’_ Daichi thinks, giving his vice a flabbergasted look. _‘Betrayal!’_

“Thank you Sugawara-San, that is nice of you, but you should train, shouldn’t you?” Shimizu asks him, looking at her art with rosy cheeks, obviously so, _so_ happy with their faked approval, it is tearing Daichi apart.

“Oh _nonsense,_ this is far more important!” Suga explains and gently directs her out of the gym before anyone can stop him. While the two of them walk away, they hear the ashen-haired add: “You are a _true heroine!_ I will never forget this, my debt to you can not be repaid, ever!”

And Daichi knows his life is officially over! 

“My _deepest_ condolences.” Ennoshita solemnly rests his hand on Daichi’s shoulder, his voice full of pity.

Daichi sags a little.

“And you are _really_ going to let her put that up all over the school?” the other carefully asks, just to make sure.

Daichi takes a deep breath and begins to massage the bridge of his nose. “Do I have a choice?” he asks, voice pressed and slightly desperate. _‘Maybe the compound will burn down overnight - there is always hope!’_

“You kind of dug your own grave here,” his junior admits with a shrug. “But your jawline _did_ come out very well,” he then muses with a suggestive raise of his eyebrows.

Daichi groans loudly.

*******

_‘Play Volleyball,’_ they said. _‘It will be fun,’_ they said.

“Come on, why the long face,” Suga chirps by his side and Daichi shoots him a sour look, refusing to answer.

They walk down the road, side by side, the cool night air brushing around them.

 _“My Gods,_ aren’t we dramatic today,” the other sighs.

“It’s not _your_ dignity that had to go,” Daichi grumbles.

“Okay so _first:_ No one will realize that is you. _Second:_ If they do, you look very sexy - wobbly Daichi is pretty damn attractive if you ask me. And _third:_ If you are not going to eat that meat bun, can I have it?”, his partner counts down, very seriously and with a deep, long sigh, Daichi surrenders his untouched meal to him.

“But why _me?”_ he laments.

“Because you are the captain and a great role model for everyone.”

“You _just_ said, no one will recognize me!”

“Daichi, that thing is practically a _Rorschach-test_! Some will see a strong figure to follow and trust and others might see a mildly crumpled apple core and think we are encouraging them to compost correctly - the point is: _Success requires sacrifice.”_ Suga announces, the last part barely comprehensible and violently undermined due to a mouth full of meat bun.

Daichi is _not_ convinced!

“And it made Shimizu really happy.”

That convinces him _a little._

“I’m afraid it will scare away more people than it will attract,” he sighs and runs his hand through his hair, tousling it.

Only two more days until the new students arrive - they desperately need new members, or else their Club is facing severe cuts! He has been the captain for less than a whole year and he will be damned if he doesn’t give this his all. He made a promise and he will _not_ let his team down any further, _even_ if his pride has to go in exchange.

“You are _such_ a _negative-nancy!”_ A fist, playfully slammed into his side, almost causes him to trip over the sidewalk. “If anyone is scared away by a simple poster, then they would not have taken it seriously anyways!”

And Daichi tries, he really, _really_ tries to be positive. “ _Yeah_ , maybe you are right,” he wheezes out, rubbing his side.

 _“Excuse me?”_ A daring eyebrow is raised at him.

He chuckles and puts a quick kiss to his partner’s cheek. “You are _certainly_ right!” he corrects himself.

“Much better,” his vice-captain giggles, then gives his hand a last comforting squeeze. “See you tomorrow,” he smiles and turns at his crossroad.

*******

_‘We need to advertise the Club!’_

After waking in the middle of the night, sweat-soaked and panting, the memory of _inky tendrils_ _enchaining him and pulling at him, limbs crooked and smudged, down into the paper, where no one will ever hear his screams_ , he finds himself restlessly turning under his covers, almost an hour earlier than his alarm is set.

With nothing to do, he decides to just go to school. Perhaps he will find peace in the clubroom or he can already put up the net for morning training. Regular classes won’t start until the day after tomorrow, with the next day being the new students’ reception, club fair and everything else.

But the established clubs all started to pick up activity several days ago, getting into shape, cleaning up their spaces and thinking about ways to attract new members. That was how they ended up with the current nightmare in the first place.

After thorough consultation among themselves, they had decided to put up some posters and tasked Shimizu with it. _Unfortunately!_

And now Daichi is faced with just that. This poster, the subject of his nightmares.

He is walking past the bulletin board when he spots it.

Daichi’s hands want to rip it down, but his heart is weirdly touched. A few other clubs have had the same idea and already hung up advertisements, but they are just thrown onto the board, loosely attached with sticky tape or single pins.

Shimizu, on the other hand, has made a great effort to put theirs in a central space and secure all four corners tightly.

Gods, this is tearing him apart! Suddenly he has a lot more understanding for Tanaka and Nishinoya.

“Sawamura-San,” the voice of the angel speaks behind him, “You are here very early!”

He turns around.

“Shimizu-San,” he croaks out surprised. “Yes, well _umn,_ likewise!”

 _“Oh,_ I guess you are right.” She smiles and brushes back a loose strand of hair, cheeks blushing faintly. “I wanted to save the best spots for us,” she explains.

It takes him a few bedazzled moments, captured by her appearance until he realizes he didn’t understand a word.

 _“What?”_ he, therefore, croaks like a total idiot.

“You know,” and she presses a little stack of papers against her chest - more posters Daichi fears, “when I went to make the copies yesterday, the new advisory teacher said, I have to wait until the janitors are done before I can hang them. So I got up extra early to do that now, before the boards are full with the ones from other clubs.”

Yes, he will start to cry, _every moment now_!

“You boys always work so hard and get up so early for morning training,” Shimizu continues. “So I decided I need to get a better hold of myself and help some more, to make sure we get many new members.”

 _“Kiyoko,”_ he croaks, the sting rising in his eyes.

She crooks her head to the side. “Are you okay?”

 _“Yes!”_ Daichi yips out and turns his face away. _‘I am so fucked - and not in the nice way,’_ he thinks as he wipes his eyes and steels his shoulders. This poster will forever haunt him, but for gods’ love, he can’t back down now. _‘Time to embrace it!’_

“Just got something in my eye! The poster is great.”

“Well, you should try to wash it out. It would be bad if you can’t see properly during training”, she advises him, in her classic, supportive tone of voice, then she turns to eye it and twists one of her strands shily. “Do you really think that?”

Daichi nods violently. _‘Curse you Suga!’_

“You really nailed my jawline! And now excuse me, I have to wash my eyes!” he calls out, turns on his heels and bolts.

He runs all the way to the club room and only comes to a stop when he has to fumble the key into the lock.

The only problem - there is another poster on the door and he, _for fuck’s sake,_ can’t get the damn key in, because he is radically distracted by it.

 _‘Okay - emergency intervention!’_ He needs a cooldown!

And so, with an unnerved scream he smashes his head against the metal door. Disorientated and with a slight ringing in his ears, he stumbles back and rubs his forehead. _Shit,_ that hurt a lot more than he anticipated!

 _“Uh…_ Daichi-San? _Are you alright?”_ someone asks him and when he turns around, he is facing Tanaka and Nishinoya, the former looking rather concerned, the later somewhere between amusement and confusion.

“No - training is cancelled!” he decides and jams the key into the lock, kicking open the door. “We are having an emergency meeting!”

*******

Nishinoya’s face is blank and he exhales slowly into his clenched hands, a shadow dropping over his eyes.

Tanaka sits across from him and with a similar expression, the poster between them.

_“Noya.”_

_“Yes.”_

“Kiyoko made it.”

“I know, Ryu.”

“Shimizu-San made it and she smiled.”

“But have you looked at it?”

“She _smiled,_ Noya!”

“But have you _looked_ at it!?”

“Yes and my eyes still hurt, _but she smiled,_ Noya!”

“I know, _I know,_ shit I know, _but…arghhhhh.”_ And Nishinoya’s voice fades into a desperate cry as he starts to pull at his hair.

“Not that I am complaining or anything, but what are you doing here?” Suga yawns and stretches his arms over his head, as he addresses the Libero. “I thought you were still expelled from the club?”

“Ryu needed psychological consultation,” Nishinoya enlightens them and looks up at the ashen-haired. “And now I need some too!”

Suga makes a little _‘aha’_ noise, then he flops down next to Daichi, briefly running his fingers over the back of his hand in a soft, loving, little greeting.

“Cut the PDA mom, this is a _crisis!”_ Nishinoya jumps to his feet, beginning to pace in circles. _‘Mom’_ rolls his eyes and leans his head against Daichi’s shoulder with a tired yawn.

“I think it could have gone worse,” Ennoshita contributes, as he walks past Tanaka, catches another glimpse of the poster and sits down in his spot. Now the only one missing is Narita and they have everyone… well _almost_ but… _no_ , Daichi refuses to think about that! 

“How?” Kinoshita asks, scratching the back of his head.

“Well, _at the very least_ it is vaguely human and we could all agree on the spot, that it’s Daichi-San,” the dark-haired muses.

“Thanks for nothing,” Daichi deadpans in response.

“I don’t understand what you want to do about it!? We can’t tell her that it’s visual acid, or at least I won’t!” Narita joins them and speaks out loud what they are all thinking. He is rewarded with a collective sigh.

“We could move other’s posters so that they cover ours up!? And then just blame _them!?”_ Kinoshita suggests but Daichi slams his hand on the floor. 

“Absolutely _not!_ Kiyoko worked very hard on this and if _anyone_ dares to lose one more negative word about it, I will inflict a level of pain on them like they have never known before!” he grits out, the image of the neatly and lovingly hung poster fresh before his eyes. “And we need the attention, _no matter how!”_

He is met with six pairs of bewildered eyes.

 _“Hell yeah!”_ Nishinoya jumps to his feet, pumping his fist in the air.

“We’ll defend Shimizu-San’s honour!” Tanaka follows his example.

_“Ryu.”_

_“Noya.”_

“RYU!”

“NOYA!”

_“SHUT UP!”_

*******

The corridor is packed and full of talking people, excited first-years and proud upperclassmen alike.

Daichi and Suga barely manage to squeeze through.

“Daichi, Suga, wait up.” They hear someone call for them and turn to see Asahi, carefully rounding a group of chatting second-year girls.

“Hey,” Suga smiles as their friend stops in front of them. “How were your holidays?”

“Oh _fine,_ I… I _guess.”_ Asahi scratches the back of his head and avoids looking either of them in the eyes. “I umn… just… I saw _the poster_ and… .”

Suddenly Daichi has two hands on his shoulders and a very serious face looking down at him. 

“I am so sorry for your loss, Daichi!”

Before he knows, his fist is digging into the other’s chest and the tall one bends over with a wheeze.

“You listen here and you listen _carefully,_ Azumane Asahi: I don’t care if you don’t show up for training anymore - you have your reasons, even though _they are stupid_! But if you dare to insult Shimizu’s beautiful work one more time, then you will have something to actually regret and I will personally make your life a living hell!” Daichi dares him, voice low and dangerous.

Then he straightens up, turns and walks away.

In the background, he can hear Asahi whisper: “I think he is broken.” And Suga, barely containing his laughter, mumble: “Don’t worry, he’s just still under shook!”

A few steps later he has his vice-captain at his side again and playfully bumping their shoulders.

“Someone sure is motivated today” he teases.

“I am simply faithful - For enduring the poster, the universe will have to reward me with good first-years!” Daichi straightens his back.

The other snorts out a laugh. “Are you ready then?” he asks cheekily.

“Yeah, let’s check if we got any applicants!” he nods, determinedly grabbing his partner’s hand. “I have a good feeling - we’re going to show Asahi there is still plenty of fight left in us!”

  
*******

*******

**- Bonus -**

“Daichi,” Suga chimes, smile bright, sticking a sharpie into his face.

In the middle of changing and therefore a little confused, he raises his eyebrows at his partner. “Yes? What do you want me to do with that?”

“Put it up my butt,” the other deadpans, Daichi’s face explodes bright red and Yamaguchi next to them chokes on his own spit.

“I want you to _write_ something, you idiot!” Suga clarifies and rolls his eyes, but the damage is already done. Daichi is in the middle of a heart attack and they probably just lost one of their new members little less than a month into the new year.

His face still hot as glowing embers he takes the pen and Suga happily proceeds to pull forth - heart attack number two - some of the posters.

“Here, you have to sign those for me,” his partner explains and upon closer inspection, he notices that someone else has already graced both papers with their signature. _Shimizu!_

“Oh, Sugawara-Senpai, what is that?!” Hinata asks, jumping up and down to catch a better look.

“My retirement savings,” the ashen-haired declares and Daichi raises his eyebrows.

 _“What?”_ he asks. “And why do you need two?”

 _“Sign!”_ Is all the answer he gets, accompanied by a stern look and with a sigh, he bows to his partner’s will, uncaps the sharpie and after a little, hesitant pause he scribbles down two signatures.

Only then does Suga nod, pleased and proudly explains: “In case either of them becomes famous in the future, I will have one for the memory and one to auction off on _eBay_ and get rich with!”

“That’s _so dumb,”_ Tanaka laughs wholeheartedly.

 _‘RIP Tanaka,’_ Daichi muses.

“Oh, is that so, huh? Well, it’s got _Shimizu’s_ signature on it,” Suga says and pronounces their manager’s name especially languid, then he offers out his hand as if he was expecting something. “So _cough up!”_

The younger takes his fall with grace. “How much do you want?”

“Offers start at a one month’s supply of meat buns,” Suga grins wide and temptingly holds up one of the posters, like a merchant showing off goods in a marketplace.

Daichi huffs and watches how the bald scrambles over to Nishinoya, where they hunch down and begin to whisper.

Hinata is wearing a dreamy face, probably lost in the thought of so many meat buns, drooling happily, until Kageyama begins to yell at him for standing in his way.

Tsukishima is critically eyeing a still pale Yamaguchi and Asahi is doing his best to soothe their freak-duo before things can get too violent.

The club-room is utter chaos and Daichi would not want to have it any other way, even though he’d rather plaster his entire room with those posters than say it out loud.

Suga gleefully rolls up his two treasures and safely stows them away in his bag.

Eventually, Daichi has to put an end to things and throw them all out.

 _“Argh,_ now I’m _hungry,”_ Hinata laments as he ushers him across the yard.

“Maybe Sakanoshita’s is still open,” Yamaguchi, having recovered from the shook, wonders aloud and that seems to lift the overall spirit.

Their freckled boy is right and soon after, they all are equipped with a meat bun each and Hinata with two. Then they get kicked out, since Tanaka and Nishinoya have gotten way too intense in their pursuit to negotiate a quantity discount, so they can afford to feed Suga for a whole month.

“Is making _me_ poor not enough for you, you _glutton!?”_ Daichi scolds his partner, with an amused huff.

“I think you are getting _a lot_ in return,” the other replies and wiggles his eyebrows at him insinuatingly.

Daichi snorts and rolls his eyes.

“If you don’t believe me, how about Saturday, my place!?”

“As long as you don’t put up that _thing_ \- I just… _can’t…_ you know _..._ when it’s staring at me,” Daichi sighs, scratching the back of his head and Suga laughs out loud, fondly bumping their elbows. They already tried making out in the clubroom once since the poster has been moved inside and it didn’t go well, to put things mildly.

“Guys - _get a room!”_ Tanaka deadpans right behind them.

Suga turns around and bites into his meat bun, munching slowly and provocatively, before dropping the bombshell: “If you have to eavesdrop at least pay attention, _Ryunosuke_! Price just rose to _two_ _months_!” and swaggers off, leaving their bald one to his despair.

Daichi grins and pats his junior-ace’s shoulder.

He has a feeling this poster will stay a theme until someone is merciful enough to release them.

*******

**- Bonus 2 -  
(contains very, VERY light smut)**

He has Suga pinned by his hips and Daichi is starting to run out of air, with fingers running over his back and his own hands smoothing up and down the other’s pale torso.

The ashen-haired insistently tucks at his shirt and moans loudly into their kiss.

Daichi slides their lips together, one last time, before he gives in, breaks the contact between them and allows his shirt to be pulled over his head.

While he is at it, he begins to stretch over his half-naked partner and starts feeling around under the bed.

“Daichi, _wait!”_ Suga gasps, catching his breath. “My mom vacuum-cleaned, so I had to hide it somewhere else.”

He grinds his teeth, unwilling to part from the other but he is also starting to get really desperate and hence gnashes out: “Where?”

“Desk, drawer.” The ashen-haired manages out and after another, greedy kiss, Daichi parts from him and staggers across the room, to the other’s desk, fueled by the sounds of Suga fumbling open his belt in the background.

Eagerly and everything but careful, since the other’s parents aren’t home, he yanks open the drawer - and jumps back with a loud scream.

“ _Fuck_ \- Koshi!” he yelps and Suga behind him cackles like a hyena, hands folded over his stomach, feet gleefully wiggling in the air.

“I. _HATE._ You!” Daichi points his finger at his boyfriend accusingly, the other hand resting on his knees. 

Poster! This… _fucking poster,_ perfectly positioned as the top layer of the drawer!

“Your _face!”_ Suga wheezes, while Daichi is still catching his breath.

“One day, you will be the death of me!”

Suga simply falls back and slaps the covers mercilessly, laughing his ass off.

Daichi slinks over and sags down, sitting on the edge of the bed. “Fuck,” he wheezes, his poor heart still skipping beats.

“ _Nooooo,_ ” and suddenly Suga sits upright. “ _Arghhh_ , I forgot the camera!” he laments and Daichi flicks his forehead.

“Why are you tormenting me like this?” he demands to know.

“Why are _you_ still complaining?” Suga retorts and leans over. “I thought the greater the suffering, the greater the universe’s reward” he teases and Daichi sighs, falling back into the covers.

“Good first years - _yes_. Reward - _not so much,_ ” he groans and thinks about the stress, these four have already caused him in the first month alone.

“ _Hm..._ ” Suga hums and swings his leg over Daichi’s lap, sitting down on him, hands planted at either side of his face. 

_“Well,”_ he purrs. “Maybe they just weren’t your reward.”

Daichi blushes instantly and croaks out: “If that is how it’s working, how much would I get if I’d hang one of your copies in _my_ room?” he asks.

“Oh no, _those_ are very exclusive and if anything _you_ have to _pay me_ for one of them! You know my demands.” Suga shakes his head, then his eyes turn dark and hooded, he pops open the button of Daichi’s pants and licks his lips. “Although from _you_ , I’d be willing to take a different form of payment.”

Daichi swallows hard. 

_‘Maybe, this poster is not so bad after all!’_

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading ;)  
> All comments are appreciated, as would be a visit to my [Tumblr](https://charlythelee.tumblr.com). If you'd like to share this story you can also reblog [this post here](https://charlythelee.tumblr.com/post/611881905657462784/a-matter-of-faith-fandom-haikyuu-type-one-shot) \- every like, follow or share is highly apprechiated.
> 
> Please note: English isn't my native language and while I try to quadruple-check all my writings, some mistakes may slip through - please feel free to point them out, I am always happy to improve!  
> Also huge thanks to my good friend [The german potato](https://tis-i-german-potato.tumblr.com) for beta-reading and hatching out the idea with me. Ball is love, Ball is life!


End file.
